6 Types of Whacked Out Weather that Have Scientists Baffled

6. Raining Frogs and Animals

You may have heard the old saying “Its raining cats and dogs” and thought to yourself “Where the heck did this saying come from?”
Or maybe you haven’t. Either way, we at Daft Gadgets have sought out the answer for you.

Although there has never been a report of cats and dogs falling from the sky, there have been quite a few real reports of raining animals from across the globe.

Some historical examples of raining animals include:

in 1873 Kansas City, Mo experienced a shower of frogs.

in 1968 Acapulco Maggots fell from the sky

in 1996 Tasmania rained jellyfish. A popular raining animal, Jellyfish fell from the sky in Bath, England, in 1894

So how does this happen? What causes the weather to start raining animals?

Raining animals is a phenomenon that scientist can’t actually explain. It happens so rarely that there is not enough concrete data for anyone to analyze effectively, although many have theorized a range of possible causes.

The French physicist André-Marie Ampère was one of the first scientists to actually believe that raining animals was more than just some whopper of a tale from a group of local drunkards.

Ampère suggested that at times frogs and toads travel in very large numbers, and are small enough that a violent wind could swoop them up from the ground carrying them great distances.

Newer scientific theories favor the phenomenon of tornadic waterspouts. The Tornadic Waterspouts are powerful enough to suck up small animals and debris, sending them soaring into the air.

Scientists believe that some of these tornadoes can suck up a entire pond and all its aquatic inhabitants, and when the tornado lets the water fall, the marine life falls with it, creating the illusion of raining animals.

Although a very convincing theory, it does not explain how all the animals involved in each individual incident would be from only one species, and not a group of similarly-sized animals from a single area.

5. Fire Devils

What is a Fire Devil

A “Fire Devil” is the colloquial name for a fire whirl. Its comprised of hot air shooting up as it flames spins into the cooler air above, pulling up terrifying ropes of fire that whirl furiously into the sky.

So its kind of like Ghost Rider’s Chain

One of the most devastating fire devils occurred in Japan in 1923 during the Great Kanto Earthquake. The Earthquake ignited a gigantic fire devil that killed 38,000 people in fifteen minutes.

Most of the larger fire devils are spawned from wildfires. They are usually 10-50 meters tall but can be up to a Kilometer in height and contain winds over 160 km/h, uprooting trees in their fire tornado havoc.

Where can I see a Fire Devil?

You can see some pretty impressive fire devils at the annual Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. On Saturday night you get the burning man, on Sunday you get the burning temple.

4. Ball Lightning

What is Ball Lightning?

Although reported from many independent sources, ball lightning is a phenomenon that science still knows very little about.

Ball lightning is thought to be any type of electrically charged ball ranging from the size of a pea to a few meters in diameter. It is said that after ball lightning explodes, it lets out a sulphur like smell, similar to the Lightning Ball like benefactors of the science fiction novel “Orbis” by Scott Mackay.
However, modern day ball lightning has yet to attempt to enslave humanity.

Where Can Ball Lightning be Seen?

Once form of ball lightning occurs commonly in the valley of Hessdalen, Norway, and has been reported since the early 1940s. It is suggested that these “light balls” or “Hessdalen Lights” are the product of alpha particles creating the ionization of dust and air during radon decay in the atmosphere.

Apparently over 5% of Americans have witnessed ball lightning when they were sober. (Or at least so they claim)

3. St Elmo’s Fire

You may have heard the term “St Elmos Fire” and pictured in your mind something like this:

Or perhaps you envisioned a tickle me Elmo doll burning in heaven. Either way, you would be wrong. The St Elmos Fire we are referring to looks more like pink balls of fiery light that dance on the masts of ships.

What causes St Elmos Fire?

Its thought to be caused by the buildup of static electricity, which in turn then heats up the air and turns it to a plasma. The Nitrogen and Oxygen in the Earths atmosphere causes St. Elmos’s fire to fluoresce with indigo colored light.

At least, that’s the going theory.

2. Bloody Snow

Back in 1818 ships encountered ice cliffs in the arctic that seemed to be streaming with blood. Back then, something like that might lead to a little superstition paranoia and possibly a human sacrifice.

Today however, bloody snow usually just make people think someone was recently murdered, and they go about their business as usual.

What is Bloody Snow?

Bloody snow is actually snow mixed with red algae named Chlamydomonas Nivalis. For some reason it is said to have a faint scent of fresh watermelons.

Where can I see Bloody Snow?

Bloody snow is common in the summertime in alpine and coastal polar regions worldwide. This includes the Sierra Nevada of California in the USA.

1. Red Sprites

Above a Thundercloud you can see giant red lightning pillars called sprites, huge pancakes of lighting named elves, and beams that shoot up from the top of the cloud known as blue jets.

Sprites are triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground. They occur high above a thunderstorm cloud and form in many cool shapes.

Sprites get their name from the mischievous air spirit named “Puck” in Shakespear’s “A Midsummer Nights Dream”